1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to vehicle seats including headrests and more particularly rear seats having headrests commonly referred to as “shingle” style headrests, which include cushion bulges to incentivize an occupant to relocate the headrest to a proper height.
2. Related Art
Headrests are commonly used in motor vehicle seats to protect an occupant's head and neck from injury during a rear-end collision. To be effective, the headrest must be positioned a sufficient distance above the backrest of the seat relative to the seat occupant, as specified by applicable motor vehicle standards.
In the case of unoccupied rear seat assemblies, a headrest raised to the normal “use” position will generally block a driver's rearward field of view, as depicted in FIG. 1. With traditional styles of headrest or restraint, the prior art has taught to completely remove headrests from the seat if unoccupied. However, this is cumbersome, the headrests are difficult to store when removed and the headrests must be reinstalled before an occupant occupies the seat.
To address issues related to traditional headrests, the prior art has developed a headrest that is commonly called a “shingled” or shingle style head restraint as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shingle head restraint is movable between raised (use) and lowered (non-use) positions. When in the lowered position, the headrest is configured to maximize the rear view for the operator of the vehicle by overlapping a substantial portion of the seatback. More specifically, when the seat is unoccupied, the shingled headrest can be pushed down, out of the driver's rearward field of view. Shingled headrests are also typically designed to be low profile in height in the lowered position, thereby not interfering substantially with the driver's view and minimizing the potential for interference with the seat in front when the seatback is folded down to a stowed position.
The shingled headrest must be placed in a raised, normal use position, and is configured such that if there is a passenger in the rear seat, they would be incentivized when the headrest is in a lowered, non-use position to manually or intentionally adjust the headrest upward. For example, the bulge of the cushion, best illustrated in FIG. 3, when the seatback is upright and the headrest is in the lower position, pushes the seat occupant forward in the upper back area creating discomfort.
The headrest should be movable to a lowered position so as not to unduly obstruct the rear view for a driver when the seat is unoccupied. While some headrests include motors and remote controls that allow drivers to flip the headrest, these are generally expensive and may interfere with the seat folding flat. In addition, if the headrest ever sticks in the flipped forward position, the seat is generally unusable.
The headrest should also be designed in a manner to incentivize an occupant of the seat to raise or otherwise place the headrest in its normal use position when a person occupies the seat. One solution in the prior art seeks to configure the headrest with a fixed bulge that provides an uncomfortable bulge in the lower condition, thereby forcing an occupant to sit in discomfort until the headrest is placed in a proper use position for the seat occupant. While various strategies have been proposed, most have associated issues, such as exemplary illustrated in FIG. 3, where a bulging shingle-type headrest can create problems when the seatback is folded to a stowed position. More specifically, to make the lower portion comfortable for sitting, the bulging portion of the headrest contacts the seat cushion of the lower portion and may prevent the seatback portion from folding flat.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved headrest which is configured to minimize obstruction of a driver's rear view when the seat is unoccupied, which incentivizes an occupant to raise the headrest to a use position, and which still allows the seatback to fold flat.